


Special Situations

by disseria



Series: Clan of the Night Flowers [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Gardens & Gardening, Herbalism, M/M, Ninja, Scents & Smells, Spirits, kami - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2013-04-04
Packaged: 2017-12-07 11:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/747939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disseria/pseuds/disseria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Kaede!" Stiles exclaimed as he opened the door, all false smiles and mock sincerity. </p><p>Kaede smiled at him and didn't even try to hide his frank appraisal of Stiles' body. "Hello, Stiles," he said, his voice sultry. "Did Lydia not tell you I was coming?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Special Situations

**Author's Note:**

> _The information provided in this story is not intended to act as a substitute for proper medical diagnosis, treatment or care from your doctor. If you are currently taking medication prescribed by your doctor, do not stop taking it without his or her advice. If you have any concerns regarding your medical condition please speak with your doctor first. All information provided in this story is for entertainment purposes only._

* * *

 

_Angelica_

_Once used in many Pagan festivals, angelica is now often referred to as the "angel herb." Angelica is symbolically masculine, associated with the sun and with fire. It promotes well-being and enhances the aura. A potent blood purifier, angelica was once believed to be a cure for the plague._

_Angelica is most commonly used to create barriers against negative energy, including hexes and curses, for purifying the home and blessing newborn babies._

 

* * *

 

3 years ago

Stiles ran his finger along the edges of the envelope, and then set it down on his dresser. It had arrived over a week ago, and the others had agreed that he should be the one to deal with it, but he had yet to do, well…anything. It felt like there were at least three sheets of paper inside. He sat on his bed, staring at it for a while before finally opening one of his drawers, and pulling out the jade mirror that Lydia had given him before his trip to Russia with Derek. He looked into it, his breath clouding its surface, then held it further away so that it would stop doing that. Allowing his eyes to loose focus, he concentrated on Lydia. Normally, he would just use his phone, but Lydia wasn't answering. Eventually, the jade around the mirror started to glow.

"What do you want, Stiles?" Lydia snapped, sounding annoyed.

"Geez!" he replied. "Can't a guy just say hi?"

"No," Lydia answered. He swore he could sense her flipping her hair.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Why aren't you picking up your phone?"

"I'm in the Himalayan Mountains, Stiles," she said, as if he should have known. "Tibet. No cell reception." 

"You're in Tibet?" Stiles asked, genuinely surprised. "What are you doing in Tibet?"

"The clan sent me here to deal with a nest of Tiger Demons," Lydia answered. "I think it's some kind of initiation."

"Wow!" Stiles replied, impressed. "Are you ready for that? What's a Tiger Demon? Are they really demons?"

"Kind of like a werewolf, I guess," Lydia said, "except it doesn't have a human form and it doesn't have a human brain. They're pretty stupid actually, from what they tell me. Their arms catch on fire when they're mad, though."

"Oh my God!" Stiles exclaimed. "And, you're gonna fight them alone? How many of them are there?"

"Stiles!" Lydia said, sounding annoyed again. "I'll be fine. Why are you trying to contact me?"

Stiles hesitated. "We got a letter," he began slowly, "from Jackson."

"Oh," Lydia replied after a long pause. "What did it say?"

"It was addressed to you," Stiles said, looking at the envelope, again. "We didn't open it. Do you want me to?"

Lydia thought for a while. "No. No, that's okay." She paused again. "Um, you have my address in Japan, right?"

"Yup," Stiles said, trying to sound chipper.

"Can you mail it to me there?" Lydia asked. "I'll look at it when I get back."

"Sure thing," Stiles replied. 

"Thanks," Lydia said, sounding distant now. "Thanks, Stiles. Uh, I should probably get going, now."

"No problem," Stiles said. "Go get 'em –"

"Don't even say it," Lydia warned, cutting him off.

"– tiger."

 

* * *

 

_Willow_

_Throughout the world, willow trees have long been revered for their mystical attributes. Willow is often included in potions for love and healing, but it is perhaps best known for its use in divination and protection. Willow is useful for warding against evil spirits and demons._

_Because the willow is water-seeking, it has long been associated with the moon and with lunar cycles. Thus, the willow is considered to have feminine attributes, and is often used in female rites of passage. Willow can be used to enhance creativity, fertility, and any rituals that are influenced by the moon._

 

* * *

 

Now

Derek and the others got to the campsite fairly quickly. The moon was not yet in the sky, and it was dark, but that was not a hindrance to any of them.

Danny had created a backdoor into the police database years ago, and they were all able to access whatever information they needed, quickly and discreetly, with their smart phones. The family that had gone missing had been camping in a fairly remote part of the preserve, but not remote enough that the rangers didn't realize something was amiss after a few days.

Approaching the campsite warily, it was soon apparent that no one was there. The werewolves sniffed the air. There was a heavy scent of human, all of the cops that had been there earlier, tramping around, looking for clues. It was muddying up the original underlying smells that they were hoping would help them figure out what had happened.

"Anything?" Lydia asked, unable to smell things the way that werewolves could.

"Not yet," Boyd replied. "Too many cops. There is something strange though, underneath it all. Can't put my finger on it."

"Smells green," Isaac said.

"How can something smell like a color?" Erica asked, though she did sniff the air again.

Isaac shrugged. Derek held up his hand for silence. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

After a while, he nodded slowly. "Isaac's right," he said. "It smells green."

Isaac smiled proudly.

"What does that mean?" Lydia asked.

"Like plants," Isaac offered. "Chlorophyll."

"We're surrounded by plants," Erica scoffed, gesturing at the greenery around them.

"It's deeper than that," Derek said. "Each of the plants here has a particular scent. It's more than the plants that grow here. It smells old." He turned to face her. "Try again," he said, turning it into a teaching moment. "Pick out the plants you know, try to smell what else is there."

Erica nodded slowly and closed her eyes. After taking several slow deep breaths, she started to nod. "I smell it," she said, smiling a little. "It smells like moss and ferns."

Derek nodded curtly. "Good. What else?"

Erica furrowed her brow. "Compulsion. Fear. Power. I smell blood. Just a little."

"You can smell all that?" Lydia asked.

Erica looked at her. "Something bad happened to the people here."

"We can track it, right?" Boyd asked, breathing deeply to smell what the others were smelling.

"We can try," Derek said. "But, like Erica said, there's power behind this scent. I doubt it wants to be found."

The werewolves took off into the woods, with Lydia following above them in the trees. She often wished she could smell things the way that they could, but she wouldn't give up her agility for it. She loved how it felt like she was flying sometimes, jumping from branch to branch, barely making a sound, moving along just as fast as the wolves below her, faster if she wanted to. From her vantage point, she would be able to spot danger from much further off than they could, and with their sense of smell, they were able to find things that she would never be able to. It was quite the symbiotic relationship, she thought to herself, thinking of the Discovery Channel specials she used to watch as a kid.

"The smell is getting fainter," Isaac complained. They had only been running for a mile.

"But, we can still smell it," Derek insisted. "Come on!"

They ran until they came to a cliff with a river below them.

"I can't smell it anymore," Erica said, sniffing the air.

Derek closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. After a few more breaths, he grimaced and punched a tree. "Damn it!" 

"What do we do now?" Lydia asked.

Derek put his hands on his hips. "I want to check out the other disappearances. They're old, and we don't know exactly where they went missing, but we need to try and find out if they're connected."

"You wanna go now?" Erica said, pulling out her phone. "There's no reception out here. I can't pull anything up."

"No," Derek said, shaking his head and walking back the way they came. "We'll do it tomorrow. We can do some research, and we'll have everyone out here to help us. Let's get back."

He started running and the others followed. As she hopped from tree to tree, Lydia started to worry. She was supposed to leave in a week, but this seemed important. In her short time as a Night Flower, she had developed a keen intuition for when something was wrong, and this felt very, very wrong. If she left, they wouldn’t have a Night Flower to help them, but classes were starting again, and she had no idea how long this new problem would take to resolve. Maybe she could have Kaede sent to Beacon Hills again. It certainly couldn't hurt to add another Spirit Walker into the mix.

She parted ways with the werewolves once they got into town, and headed to her own house. The three Betas were going to the Hale house, which had been restored to much of its former glory, though Derek himself was obviously going back to the Stilinskis. She laughed softly to herself when she thought of Derek letting himself in with his very own key. My, how things had changed.

Slipping through her bedroom window, she settled onto her bed and pulled her jade mirror out of her purse, which had been sitting on the nightstand. There _were_ certain privileges to being the last remaining active Koga on the planet. For one thing, it meant she was the head of her family, which immediately made her an elder in the clan, though she was only 21 years old. However, with the mortality rate of Night Flowers, she doubted she was the youngest elder in the clan’s history. As an elder, she could send another Night Flower on an assignment, even one from another family. While she couldn't exactly order them to do her biding, she could _strongly request_ it, and more often that not, she would be obeyed. Not that she had ever tried it before.

Holding the mirror in her hands, she directed her thoughts towards Kaede. He responded almost immediately.

"Lydia, my flower!" he answered cheerfully. "How are you this wonderful evening?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Hello, Kaede. How do you know it's even evening where I am?"

"Because, you are in Beacon Hills," he said. "I always know where you are."

"Okay, that's only sort of creepy," Lydia replied, but smiled a little. It was no secret that Kaede had a little crush on her. And, Stiles. He probably had a crush on everyone in the pack. Being a Night Flower was often lonely work. Now that Jackson was fully and completely out of the picture, she found herself thinking of Kaede from time to time. He was certainly good-looking, as most Night Flowers tended to be, and he wasn't without his charms. But, something about him was just slightly off-putting, like he was always trying too hard. Not to mention, he had tried to kill all of them once. "I might need your help, Kaede," she said. "Where are you?"

"I am in Malaysia," he replied. "They are having problems with water kamis."

"Oh, God!" Lydia exclaimed. "Not 'Rage of the Seas?!'"

"No, no," Kaede answered with a laugh. "Nothing like that. These ones just like to play tricks. But sometimes, their tricks are dangerous."

"Oh," Lydia said, breathing out a sigh of relief. For a moment, she thought she was going to have to ask Derek and Stiles to fly down with her to Malaysia instead of asking Kaede to come up to Beacon Hills. She was still getting used to this clan elder business. "How long do you expect to be down there?"

"I should be finished in a few days," he answered. "Why?"

"I need to fly back to Japan, next week," Lydia said, "and I don't want to leave Beacon Hills without a Night Flower. I think something might be happening here. I would feel more comfortable if you came up here to help with it."

"Okay," Kaede said, "but I am sad that I will not be seeing you."

"If you don't see me, that will be a good thing," Lydia replied. "But, I have a feeling you may be seeing me sooner than you think."

 

* * *

 

_Bloodroot_

_The root of this plant draws love and averts negativity. Those looking for romance can place a bloodroot on their bedside table with a rose quartz and two red candles, and love will surely follow!_

_Bloodroot leaves and flowers are often used for protection, especially against threats to those you love, however you must be careful when using this herb that you do not accidentally draw unwanted attention!_

 

* * *

 

The doorbell rang. That was never a good sign. Derek and Scott both had keys, and most of the others, including Allison, would normally just come in through his bedroom window. Danny would have called first. This meant it could only be one of two people.

"Kaede!" Stiles exclaimed as he opened the door, all false smiles and mock sincerity. 

Kaede smiled at him and didn't even try to hide his frank appraisal of Stiles' body. "Hello, Stiles," he said, his voice sultry. "Did Lydia not tell you I was coming?"

Stiles had to give him credit. Not only was the man unnaturally good-looking, he was extremely well versed in the arts of seduction, and if Stiles did not already have an unnaturally good-looking man of his own, he might have fallen for Kaede's wiles. "Nope. And, it's probably a good thing she didn't, because I would have told her not to let you come. And, before you say or do anything," Stiles said, pointing a finger in Kaede's ridiculously attractive face, "I am still with Derek, and that is not going to change for the foreseeable future."

Kaede raised his hands in surrender, but his smile said otherwise. Apparently he was still enamored of the idea of being with another Spirit Walker.

Stiles plastered a fake smile on his face, knowing full well that the understanding between them was fragile at best. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Lydia asked me to come because she was going back to Japan," Kaede said. "She said you had a problem here and you needed a Night Flower."

Stiles sighed. "Well, she's probably not wrong. Come in, I guess." He stepped back so Kaede could walk through the door.

"It has been too long, Stiles," Kaede said, casually resting a hand on Stiles' shoulder. 

Stiles looked askance at it. "It hasn't even been a year," Stiles replied. "You were just here for training."

"Every moment away from your presence is too long," Kaede said, finally letting go of his shoulder and walking into the kitchen. "Can I have some water?"

"Help yourself; you know where everything is," Stiles said, following him. He watched as Kaede opened a cupboard and grabbed a glass, filling it with water from the tap. Kaede watched him as he drank.

"Since you're here, and everyone else is busy right now," Stiles began, "do you want to see the garden I started?"

Kaede put the glass down on the counter. "Of course."

Stiles smiled meekly, and led the way to the backyard. He had removed the grass from the rectangle that was to be the garden, and had turned the soil. He had already planted all of the trees, and some of the seeds had already sprouted.

"This is very nice," Kaede said, admiring his work.

Stiles couldn't help but smile. Kaede tried to take another step forward, but then slowly put his foot down. He frowned.

"I cannot come any closer," he said. "Have you planted Spider Lily here?"

Stiles nodded, easily taking another step towards the small seedlings. He knelt down and touched the tiny leaves. "Yeah, these are them, right here. There's three different kinds, red, white and pink. I was curious to see how the seedlings would affect you. They're so small," he said, almost affectionately.

Kaede shook his head to clear it. "It is quite potent, actually," he said. "Even standing here, I feel quite weak. Perhaps it is because they are so young, or it is how many you planted. As you know, we cannot handle the plants ourselves."

Stiles nodded and stood up, brushing off his hands on his pants. "It's only the red and pink varieties that affect you though, right? The white ones you use for your powders?"

"Yes," Kaede said, taking a step back and looking visibly relieved. "What else have you planted?"

"Wolfsbane, obviously," Stiles said, "all different kinds, so the werewolves can't come near the garden either. That's a rowan tree, mountain ash, in the middle. Lots of stuff." He smiled suddenly as Derek stepped into the backyard.

"I thought I smelled something funny," Derek said, sneering at Kaede.

"Hello Derek," Kaede replied, syrupy sweet. "It is very nice to see you again."

Stiles walked up to Derek because he knew Derek wouldn't be able to come to him. Derek pulled him close and kissed him full on the lips, staring daggers at Kaede the entire time, claiming Stiles as his own. It was a ritual they had to go through every time Kaede visited, so Stiles was used to it.

"Be nice," Stiles said, patting Derek on the chest. "I already told him he couldn't have me. How come you never complain about the way Lydia smells?"

"Lydia smells like pack," Derek answered, succinctly. "What is he doing here?" He asked, looking intently at Stiles' face.

"Lydia sent him. To help with the 'green' thing," Stiles replied, making air quotes when he said "green."

Derek frowned, then nodded. "I guess that was smart."

"Yeah," Stiles scoffed, flicking Derek's chest with the back of his hand, "it's Lydia." He started heading back into the kitchen. "I'm gonna go get dinner started. Why don't you take Kaede to the campsite, and those other places you found? He knows more about these things than we do; maybe he'll see something. And, play nice!"

Derek scowled as Kaede smiled at him. "Come on," Derek growled, leading the way back through the house.

Since it was still bright out, they took Derek's car, no reason to let the neighbors see two dudes running with unnatural speed down the street. Once they got to the preserve, they were free to run, as there was no one out there to see them. Derek led him to the campsite, the police tape long since taken down, and the family's belongings removed, but he could still smell it. No one else had camped there since.

"This is it," Derek said, gesturing at the empty campsite. "We think a family of six was taken from this spot about two weeks ago."

Kaede gingerly walked towards the bare patch of ground where the tent had likely been set up. Holding out his hands, he spun slowly, trying to take it all in.

"Something very powerful was here," he said, closing his eyes. "I believe that family was taken against their will."

"That's what Stiles said when I brought him here," Derek replied. "Are you picking up anything else?"

Kaede continued to move through the campsite. "The being that took them is connected to the earth. It feels like those people that the 'Rage of the Sea' killed by the lake, but I am not sensing cold or anger or water. This feels like living things, plants. Very old. But, the feeling of belonging to the spirit realm, I can feel that."

Derek crossed his arms. "So we're dealing with a kami again? A plant kami, or something?"

Kaede shook his head. "I do not think it will be that simple. I cannot think of a reason why a kami would take a human being. This is very strange."

"That 'Rage of the Sea' tried to take Stiles," Derek argued.

"That was a special situation," Kaede replied. He looked around the campground a bit, and then turned back to Derek. "I do not think I will be able to find out anything else here. Where are the other places?"

"This way," Derek said, running into the forest again.

After taking Kaede to the two spots they had found where the other people had disappeared, they drove back to the house. It was starting to get dark, and cooking smells were wafting from the windows.

"So, what did you find?" Stiles asked, looking up at them expectantly when they walked into the kitchen.

"The thing that took the family is the same thing that took the couple and the jogger," Derek said.

Stiles nodded, "Well, we kind of figured. Did you find out anything else?"

"We were right when we smelled something 'green.'" Derek added. "Whatever it is, it's connected to a plant kami."

"Kamis," Kaede corrected. "I think there are many."

Stiles crossed his arms and sighed in annoyance. "Well, great. What do we do now?"

"I need to contact my superiors," Kaede said. "There is something very strange about all of this. I know we have not had good luck with kamis in the past, but kamis do not normally interact with people like this."

"Didn't you say you were just dealing with some bad kamis in Malaysia?" Derek asked.

"That was also a special situation," Kaede said, bowing and excusing himself to the living room to use his jade mirror.

"We're having entirely too many 'special situations' for my comfort around here!" Stiles called out to him, turning back to the food cooking on the stove. "After dinner, we're calling the gang together, and we're getting to the bottom of this!" he said to Derek.

Derek came up behind him and tried to massage the tension out of his shoulders. "It's okay," he said softly into Stiles' ear. "We'll pull through. We always do."

Stiles huffed. "Yeah? Well, someone almost always gets hurt. Or, killed. I don't want to have to bury one of our friends."

Not having an answer for him, Derek kissed the back of his neck, and watched silently as Stiles continued cooking their food.


End file.
